1-2-3 Come Make a Social Contract & Some Classroom Rules With Me

A classroom social contract is quick, easy and fun for your kiddos.  By having a say in making up the rules, (even though they will turn out to be the same as a teacher would think of) makes things seem more “fair” and students more accountable.

I love social contracts. I made one up each year no matter what grade I taught.  I simply listed my rules on a poster.

We discussed why they were important. Then I had everyone raise their right hand and say “I promise to obey our rules.” 

Older students can simply sign another sheet of paper, to be hung up under the poster, but for younger elementary, I liked to have them trace & cut out their hand print, then write their name on top.

Promising, and then signing their name, makes students feel important. 

It also makes them accountable and more responsible for their actions. 

Promises are big deals to children, so a social contract gives you a lot of behavior modification leverage. 

All you have to do when a child gets off track and is breaking the class’s terms of agreement, is to ask, “Did you promise not to do that? Did you sign our contract? How should you act? What should you do?"

Sometimes I didn’t even say anything.  As a gentle reminder, I’d give the “rule breaker” the proverbial “teachers stare”. 

Once I made eye contact, I’d point to the contract. They’d follow my glance to the poster and I’d simply pat their name. 

This gentle reminder, worked wonders. 

I didn’t call attention to negative behavior, the child wasn’t embarrassed, and the gentle reminder got them back on track.

Periodically I’d review our contract, especially after long weekends, and vacations.

You can have a whole-group discussion, and ask children to reflect on how they think they’ve done, and ask if you should make additions or changes. 

Because my social contract has been so successful in my classroom, I decided to share it in my latest creation for TpT. 

The contract snowballed into a 65-page "School Rules Classroom Management" packet.

I think you'll find very useful, as it's "kid-tested & teacher approved" so these positive behavior modification techniques really work, plus they're quick, easy & fun for your kiddos.

I've included 4 social contract poster options.

Choose one & mount the poster on construction paper, glue it to the center of a piece of tag board.

Make a frame of student hand prints either with paint, or by tracing & cutting them out.,

Because accountability is so important, have children write their name over their print.

Besides the social contract posters, the packet is chock full of a variety of ideas & activities for your classroom rules, ensuring a safe, warm, and respectful environment, and includes the following:

• 2, emergent-reader rule booklets (For more personal accountability there's one with girl graphics as well as one for boys, which students enjoy coloring.)
  
• A matching social contract mini poster, and personal “I promise” bookmark.
• 51 pocket chart promise cards, giving you a broad selection of rule cards to choose from.
• 15 (rule-oriented motivational) posters
• 3 options for “Ready-Set-Write the Rules” to help reinforce what you’ve just shared.
• Several notes home from the children.

“I promised!” slap bracelets. My kiddos LOVE them! Using a square of Scotch tape, I fasten them on at the end of our day. 

This is a quick, easy and super-fun way to reinforce the rules, as parents will be prompted to ask: "What did you promise?"

“Actions have consequences” bookmark
Mindful of our “P’s & Q” poster & writing prompt

My personal favorite: "I have rights; I have responsibilities” posters, plus
“We’ve got SWAG” posters, along with matching "I've got SWAG" mini ones.  Both are suitable for older students.

I hope you find this social contract idea and the rule packet as helpful and successful for your class, as it was for mine. 

In celebration for getting ready to go back to school, the packet is currently on sale in my TpT shop for just $4.95.  Click on the link to pop on over. 

As always, I have not one, but several FREEBIES for you today! I pulled 10 posters from the packet and rolled them into a Back To School Poster Packet for you.  Click on the link to grab these fun FREEBIES today.

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be watching 2 of my grandchildren today (Kaiden 2 & Kaitlyn 8 months) which is such a joy.

There's nothing like the awesome enthusiasm of a child and seeing the world through their adventurous and delighted eyes.

Wishing you a love-filled day filled with precious moments.

"There are not Seven Wonders of the World in the eyes of a child; there are seven million." -Unknown

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Constitution Day Activities With Me

With a federal mandate that any schools accepting federal funds, need to do some educational activity associated with the Constitution, on September 17th, I wanted to think up something that my Y5’s could easily understand.  

With everything else that teachers have to cover, I also wanted what we did to be something simple and especially relevant to them.

This packet does exactly that, because I've tied it into classroom management: jobs of students and teachers, as well as the rules and regulations they must follow.

These activities not only tie in with the Constitution, they are quick and easy to implement.  Children can wrap their heads around these Constitutional comparisons and the result will be a more caring classroom climate, with less inappropriate behavior.

The Constitution is a document that serves as the foundation of American government.  To help explain this to students, make a document of jobs as well as rules for your classroom and have all of the children sign it.

The Constitution is broken up into 3 branches.  (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) They all have specific jobs.   Like wise, teachers and students have jobs. 

First, discuss and make a list of all the  jobs and responsibilities of a good student. Then make up a list of jobs (responsibilities) for teachers.  I’ve included headers for you to put up on your board, so that you can brainstorm with your students and write things under the appropriate heading.

Children’s discussion will often involve what they think the qualities of a good student and good teacher are.   I’m sure some of their ideas will make you smile. ( “Teachers need to smell nice.” )   

Write students’ ideas on the board.  I’ve included a completed list of things we thought of to help you, as well as blank templates to fill in your own.  I’d enjoy seeing what your kiddos come up with. You can e-mail me at: diane@teachwithme.com  

Hang up your lists on a bulletin board.  There’s also a poster that you can put in the middle of your board, after all of your students have signed it.

Next, discuss your rules.  Because students have been in school for several weeks, you’ve hopefully have already established a list of rules with them.  If you don't have a set of rules posted, click on the link for my simple rules poster.

Review the rules and make a list of them on the board.  (Tie this in with the Constitution, as our country also has rules, which are laws that people must follow.)

Discuss how things are going .  Is everyone following the rules?  Are they good rules; fair rules; necessary?  Do you need to change, modify, or add any rules? (Tie this in with the Constitution by briefly explaining the amendments to the Constitution.) I've included a writing prompt page where students can jot down 3 reasons why doing their job and following rules is important.

What are the consequences of not following the rules?  What do they think would happen if there were no rules to follow and everyone adopted an “anything goes” attitude? (Briefly discuss the correlation of this to the Constitution’s checks, balances and punishment for breaking laws.)

An easy way to make your classroom constitution is to make a social contract.  Head your poster: “We the (kindergarten) students of (Orchard Trails Elementary) promise to . . .” and then list what students feel are important promises (rules, jobs and responsibilities).

Have each child sign the poster.  (Remember to have new students sign it too.)  This is now a working document (like the Constitution).  Discuss how signing something is a big deal.  This is binding.   Even young children understand the importance of a promise and following  through.   (“But you promised . . .)  If the class as a whole, or an individual student, is not keeping their promises per the terms of your social contract, refer to the poster and ask:

“Did you promise to follow the rules, be a good listener, be kind to one another? etc.”  (Obviously they did.)  After thy take responsibility for their actions then ask: “What would have been a better choice?  What should happen now?”  Click on the link to view/download the Constitution Day Jobs & Rules Packet.

I found a cute social contract over at Corner Character blog spot.  I like how she wrote each promise in a different color marker and then had students add their painted handprint to the side of the chart, adding their names when the paint dried. 

I designed my own social contract, tracing my students' hands on a variety of colors of construction paper.

I glued our "promise poster" to the center of a piece of tag board, then "framed" it with the colorful prints.

For more accountability, have children sign their own names, which makes them feel important & more accountable. For added pizzazz, when school pictures come back, copy, cut & glue one to each child's hand.

Our social contract has been so successful, that I decided to share it in a "School Rules Classroom Management" packet.  Click on the link to check it out.  

Follow up these activities by reading “We the Kids”  by David Catrow.  He makes understanding the Preamble to the Constitution accessible to children in a fun and humorous way.  A glossary of terms and a foreword by the artist are also included.

Since the Preamble is one of the most famous and familiar parts of the Constitution, I’ve included several trace and write worksheets in the packet.

I find that a short video is often the best way to review and get more information into my students’ minds.  A nice way to end your day is to choose a short video from this American history website.

The first one is only 4 minutes, another on the Founding Fathers is 3 minutes and a final one entitled America Gets A Constitution is 4 minutes.  They are easy for little ones to understand and include some good background information.

Thanks for visiting.  Time to go watch the Detroit Lions hopefully win a football game!

"If you want to know where your heart is, go to where your mind goes when it wanders." -Unknown